The European Commission, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, the Republic of Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States announced on Friday they would open a maritime corridor to deliver much-needed additional amounts of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip by sea.

The delivery will be "in coordination with UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag – who is charged with facilitating, coordinating, monitoring, and verifying the flow of aid into Gaza," a joint statement said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she expected the maritime aid corridor to start operating between Cyprus and Gaza over this weekend, providing desperately needed aid to besieged Palestinians.

Von der Leyen said a pilot test run of food aid collected by a charity group and supported by the United Arab Emirates could be leaving Cyprus as early as Friday from the port of Larnaca in Cyprus.

(With input from Reuters)